How and what to watch for Oregon vs. USC in Pac-12 Championship Game

The Oregon Ducks will try to give the No. 13-ranked USC Trojans their first loss when they meet up in the Pac-12 championship game on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

The Washington Huskies were scheduled to play USC in the title game, but due to the coronavirus and not having enough players, the Ducks have taken their place. Oregon played two weeks ago after their game last week against the Huskies was canceled.

Oregon (3-2) lost 21-17 to the California Bears on Dec. 5, giving them their second-straight loss. The Ducks did not do much on offense as quarterback Tyler Shough completed 14-of-26 passes for 231 yards, and a touchdown. He also had 53 rushing yards, which was second behind running back Travis Dye, who had 71 yards on 12 carries. Oregon’s offense also had two fumbles, which gave the Bears extra possessions and killed drives.

Defensively the Ducks’ defense did a great job stopping the run, holding the Bears to 88 yards on 47 attempts (1.9 yards per carry). However, they allowed Cal to complete 2-of-3 fourth down conversions, which played a significant role in the outcome.

The Trojans (5-0) defeated their crosstown rival the UCLA Bruins 43-38 last weekend for the Victory Bell. USC got all they could handle from UCLA, however when they needed a play quarterback Kedon Slovis made it. Slovis went head-to-head with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, completing 30-of-47 passes for 344 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Four of Slovis’ five touchdown passes went to wide receivers Drake London and Amon-Ra St. Brown. London had five receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while St. Brown recorded 10 receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns. The pass-catching duo should be able to make plays against an Oregon defense that is allowing 11.4 yards per completion.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Oregon vs. USC on Friday, December 18th at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox, or you can stream it via the Fox Sports Go app with a cable or streaming service login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Oregon vs. USC -3
Point Total: 63.5
Money line: Oregon +118 vs. USC -148

• Going back to the 2019 season, the Oregon Ducks have been a great ML pick with a record of 15-3 straight up in their last 18 games.
• The point total went over in five of the Ducks’ last seven games.
• Meanwhile, the Trojans have made a lot of folks money ATS with a record of 6-3 in their last nine games.
• The point total went under in four of USC’s last five games.

Betting splits

Oregon: (20% of handle, 9% percent of bets)
USC: (80% of handle, 91% percent of bets)

The Best Bet

Looking at this matchup, the USC Trojans should win this game. However you just do not know what to expect from a Clay Helton-led team. Last week Fight On just escaped with a win over the Ducks and to begin the regular season, and they needed a little bit of luck to defeat the Arizona State Sun Devils in Week 1. But this game will come to down to USC’s defense, which is only giving up 20 points per game at home. If they cannot allow an explosion like they did last week against UCLA, this should be a win and hopefully an easy cover.

Pick: USC (-3)

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